By By MARCIA STEFFENS / Cassopolis Vigilant
CASSOPOLIS -- Stopping for a cup of coffee at the Phillips 66 gas station on M-60 Friday morning, Bob Wagel, Chairman of the Cass County Board of Commissioners, spied two cyclists in matching t-shirts and helmets.
The two are averaging about 90 miles a day on a cross country trip to Cape Cod, Mass., which started May 29, from San Francisco, Calif.
Ryan Nelson told Wagel his father made a cross country trip 30 years ago.
Cycling for a Healthy Heart, the two have already raised their $10,000 goal supporting the American Heart Association (AHA).
Their trip can be followed on their web site: www.cycleforheart.com with a place to leave a message and read a journal of their travels.
If you visit their web site you can read of the travels and interesting experiences, such as they had in South Dakota, when some members of a Native American Reservation took off with Tim's cell phone and charger.
Nelson, 20 years old, just finished his second year at Dickinson College where he is an international business major. Ryan is a graduate of Spring Grove Area High School in Spring Grove, Pa. He has traveled to Guatemala and India numerous times on mission trips with his family. His parents are Ed and Sue Nelson of East Berlin, Pa.
Tim Glatfelter just finished his sophomore year at Albright College in Reading, Pa. He is a business major with a concentration in finance and economics. Tim graduated from Spring Grove Area Senior High School in Spring Grove, Pa. where he played varsity football and tennis. Tim is the son of George and Beverly Glatfelter.
Their mission is to make everyone aware that heart disease is the number one killer in the United States, and strokes follow in a close third. Many of these deaths are preventable, they say. They want to promote a healthy lifestyle.